sustainability

My most recent historical series obsession is Gran Hotel*. Set (and also made) in Spain in the early 20th century it combines melodrama, soap opera story lines and murder mysteries with neat costumes and gratituous shirtless boxing scenes. What’s not to love?

How amazing are theseScore Knives from the 16th Century? I’m always a fan of Renaissance harmonies and these are engraved on blades, how awesome is that? Also, note to self, best present idea for my Dad, ever.

After years of not actively listening to them the concert at the ConQuest pre-game party made me come back to Fiddler’s Green. They used to be such a staple in my old flat-share’s daily soundtrack! I’d never seen them live before, but they are actually so euphoric and fun in concert! My current favourite is The More The Merrier (which opened the concert and resonated so much with me) and Blarney Roses (an all-time favourite traditional of mine that just sticks and doesn’t go away).

I’ve been reading Murder Mysteries by Hana Prosková by accident (by which I mean I found them in the open bookshelf) and have found them really enjoyable. They remind me of the Van de Wetering novels in their strangely calm tone, I love it.

TheseDIY Geode Bath Bombs look so good! I’ve been saying that I want to get into making my own bath bombs for ages and I’m absolutely in love with these, they are so pretty!

I’m also pretty enarmoured with the Crosley Corduroy Cruiserrecord player at Urban Outfitters… in every colour. Which is the main problem, because I could actually need a new record player but I can’t choose for the life of me when it comes to this colour combination (although I imagine the corduroy to be a pain to dust off).

I unfollowed Connie Glynn a while ago but when this essay on the “Death of YouTubers” (as a concept. Not as people.) came up in my suggestions list I gave it a go and it’s really, really well researched and, well… good. I’ve been thinking about similar things in regards to blogging… but I’ve got that scheduled for another day.

*Gran Hotel is the original Spanish name. It might be written as Grand Hotel in some places, for example German Netflix.

I only ever noticed how almost all items fell into the same aesthetic category when I was almost done editing, very much Sarah Kay and Holly Hobbie. Which happens to be a big slice of my aesthetic lately.

Have you had any fantastic finds lately? Let me know in the comments! ♥

This lovely graphic about plastic-free options is by catfishcreative on Instagram.

It’s July, and if you’ve been reading this blog for more than a year you know what this means: The re-surfacing of my obsession to cut as much single-use plastic and plastic in general out of my life. While I’m always trying to live my most environmentally friendly life ideals tend to get thrown under the bus of everyday business and comfort. Each July I’m reminded of where I want to be with my consumption habits, be it groceries, toiletries or even the tiny things I treat myself with, and I can try again to make the world a little bit cleaner, a little bit better, and a little more friendly for humans and planet alike.

I still know what used to be my biggest challenge last year: pasta. It always comes in plastic packaging at the supermarket, and back then I didn’t have a bike to regularly go to the one place in town I know of where I can get it packaging-free. Now I don’t only have a bike but also a friend who works there, so that’s a bonus when I actually get there!
What I’m saying is that motivators are important, this might be this year’s biggest subtopic for me, too.

And of course it’s not only about plastic, it’s about aluminium, about fast fashion, about litter in general. With general crafting as a hobby it’s sometimes difficult to find alternatives and workarounds, but I’m rather positive I can still make my crafting habits less prone to cause a full bin.

One thing to always remember, though, when thinking about living a plastic-free life is that in our world it is pretty much impossible to get rid of the stuff completely. Some things won’t come without, and some of these things we need – just think of medication blister packs, your phone, your computer. There is no shame in not living the plastic-free-est life ever. There is no shame in still buying your favourite sweets even though they come wrapped in single-use plastic, especially not if they make you truly happy.

Even a tiny effort goes a long way, and don’t let anyone tell you different. Even if you get a reusable to-go cup and that’s it – that’s one person’s worth less of single use cups, one person’s worth less of trees that are felled only for a cup of coffee, one person’s worth less of lids thrown in the bin afterwards. Tiny efforts are what this is about, because a lot of tiny efforts make a couple of big ones. And you are part of that.

Also, there are a TON of cute reusable cup designs out there.

Are you participating in Plastic Free July this year? What are your main goals? I’d love to read about them in the comments! ♥

UFO Friday is my (usually) bi-weekly series where I show you what projects I’ve been working on (UFO standing for UnFinished Objects) in a fairly non-polished way. For more of these, look here and for every other week’s feature, Finished Things Saturday, look here.

The last week has been really cold, and the whole year so far has been windy. Scoundrel bikes to work every day, no matter the weather so he asked me to make the sleeves of his fantastic heavy wool coat a bit longer with fabric he bought. I might have had to improvise for pinning, though. As I always claim, all my old tins do come in handy at some point.

At PRG sessions lately I’ve taken to making more fabric handkerchiefs by just roll-hemming square pieces. They are fantastic scrap busters because they are actually useful. I tend to get through four or five per session when we call it an early night.

And last but not least this week is this, a project for which several pieces have been around since Summer. I made the skull design back then but never got around transferring it to fabric but I finally managed to do just that. The final result is yet to be assembled, though.

What have you been crafting lately? I’d love to read about it in the comments!

Finished Things Saturday is the (usually) bi-weekly counterpart to my UFO Fridays. While there I show you what I’m working on FinThSat is about finished projects, no matter how small, that I often used to think not worthy of a separate post for sometimes but now just put in this feature. They deserve it! For more FinThSats, look here.

My fabric handkerchief collection started when I was a wee lass and my Grandmother gave them to me for major holidays (not only them, but them, too. She’s not the Dursleys). I later inherited my Mum’s because she didn’t use them and sometimes snuck into my Grandmother’s bedroom to admire the fine ones with lace around them and tiny embroidered flowers when I was alone at her place.

By now I have added a whole stack of thrifted hankies. I especially like vintage children’s ones like the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves motif above. I have a few that are almost too cute to snot into, and the most precious ones aren’t being used except for photo props and rare occasions of being a fine lady.

I used to keep my hankies in a simple box but this proved to be unhandy – I only ever used the same ones, I had to open and close the box so it would look neat and it was at some point simply too small. So I made this: A tissue box out of old fabric handkerchiefs. The bottom is made out of felt for a bit more stability. Originally it was merely meant to hold a normal box of paper tissues but I quickly found that this was far more handy for me.

I love the handmade look with uneven stitching and appliques. I’ll probably make a few more for the rest of the flat – roll-hemming fabric squares into reusable hankies is a great project for RPG sessions so we’re more than stocked on those – because it’s a great way to show the more fancy prints that I collected over time.

What have you been making lately? I hope you’re having a great weekend! ♥

P.S.: The print in the background of the first picture was made and given to me as a parting gift when I moved by a wonderful friend that I haven’t seen in far too long a time.

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I'm Ari, welcome to my little corner of the woods.
This is a place where I write about my lifestyle (making this a lifestyle blog): alternative living, nerd hobbies, fashion and there might be the odd recipe thrown in, too.
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